Surviving a culture of lies

People over 50 may remember a time when lies were not the menace they are today. This is not because people lied less, but because when they got caught lying it was awful. There were consequences: They got fired, they were disgraced, and they lost respect.

We have, in our day, entered into a new dimension. Somewhere along the line, somebody in public life noticed to his amazement that you could lie and people would still like you, they would still vote for you, they would think it doesn’t matter, they would even hate the folks who called you out on it. That’s when the lowly lie took on a life of its own, infused with new strength by the authority invested in it by a swelling army of bold and brash practitioners.

Noticing this cultural shift has been the scariest thing about modernity for me. The reason is easy to say: Where do you go when there is nowhere to go with your grievance? Whom do you turn to when the very human embodiments and custodians of truth, from the lowest to the highest levels, are infected and corrupt? This is terror.

“The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together. The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge” (Micah 7:2-4, ESV).

The Bible gives examples of lies that seem to “work.”

Elisha (2 Kings 5) has firmly determined to take not a shekel from the Syrian commander he healed, lest the military man have the slightest reason to question the prophet’s motives. But Elisha’s servant is not so upright and he chases after Naaman, fibbing that Elisha has changed his mind. Naaman is happy to hand over the requested garments and silver and goes on his way with his retinue. The danger, of course, is that Elisha (and Elisha’s God) will be ever so slightly diminished in Naaman’s eyes. There is no evidence that Elisha ever has opportunity to meet Naaman again and set the record straight. Rather, we must be content to leave the matter in God’s hands, for He knows how to protect His own glory and the glory of truth tellers.

In a second example, Jesus truly rises from the dead, but chief priests have paid off the soldiers guarding the tomb to say that Jesus’ disciples came and stole the body while they slept. The lie appears to prosper like a charm:

“So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day” (Matthew 28:15, ESV).

But here is the thing: God is not worried. And neither should you be. A lie is for a moment (Proverbs 12:19). In the long run, in this universe that runs on God’s own principles, we can do nothing against the truth (2 Corinthians 13:8). We just wait until the worm turns.